2018 Onward: Turning the Houston Texans Into a Winner

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

In 2002, the National Football League brought back professional football to the city of Houston by giving them the Houston Texans. With Dom Capers as the head coach, and with #1 draft pick David Carr, the people of Houston were optimistic that their new franchise would be successful in the near future.

The Capers era would end quickly, however. After Carr struggled at QB, and a 2-14 season, Capers was canned after 4 years in 2005. Replacing him was Gary Kubiak, a man who had great success as a coordinator in Denver. In his second year, Kubiak got the team to 8-8, it’s highest mark. Fans thought it was a matter of time before a playoff appearance.

One year later in 2008, the Texans were one win better at 9-7, the first winning season. Being in a division with 3 playoff teams, the Texans still had optimism. In 2009, they would go 8-8, still on the cusp of success.

Then, in 2010, they would fall to 6-10. Their 1st rounder that year, HB Cyrus Jones, turned out to be a disappointment. But the ownership kept faith that Kubiak was the man to get the job done. They drafted a better HB in Tanard Mathis, and the next season, the Texans returned to .500. The year after that, they came even close, going 9-7 in 2012.

But from there, things would go down south. 2012 first round LB Hunter Harline would end up a bust, 2013 first round HB Spud Westbrook would flop. They would pick another running back the next year in Larry Brewington, despite still having Tanard Mathis. Brewington’s talent was never utilized.

2013 and 2014 would both end in a 6-10 record for the Texans. 2015 would be the final straw, as the team fell to 3-13. Kubiak was fired, and the team didn’t know where to go for answers. They hired Lovie Smith, who had been very unsuccessful in recent endeavors. The team went 4-12, and Smith decided to retire from coaching.

16 years had passed from the founding of the team, and they were nowhere close to their first playoff appearance. Going 63-97in the past 10 seasons, the teams’ roster was unimpressive. The city of Houston had lost interest in this franchise, and many rumors began to circulate about the Texans being relocated.

It appeared that football in Houston, Texas, was in danger of leaving again...

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

"I guarantee that I will bring a Super Bowl to this team in 5 years or I'll retire"

The Texans fans had reason to cheer for the first time in years. Jordan Slocum had joined up to become their Head Coach. Slocum took the 49ers to 3 Super Bowls in 5 seasons, and was fresh off of 3 straight Super Bowl wins with the Miami Dolphins previously.

If anyone could save the franchise and make them a winner, it was Slocum.

"When I joined the 49ers and Dolphins, I saw two former great and successful franchises that had fallen off. And I helped return them to prominence. Here, I find a franchise that has never had success. I want to change that.

The people of Houston deserve a winner. Unfortunately, you have to go back to the Run and Shoot and Warren Moon days to find winning football in this city. I plan on changing this.

A lot of work needs to be done with this team. Frankly, there are a lot of issues on this roster. There are a lot of bad contracts. But I am confident that I can bring a Super Bowl to this city.

It will be the biggest challenge of my career. But I plan on finally giving the city of Houston the NFL success that it deserves.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Since it's been a while, for those new, I am on my 11th year on my NFL Head Coach franchise. Here is what the first 10 seasons have looked like.

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017			Record	Playoff App	Playoff Rec	Div Titles	S Bowl	Conf Champ
Seahawks	11-5	8-8	9-7	9-7	4-12	7-9	9-7	10-5-1	8-8	4-12			79-80-1	3	0-3	2
Rams	8-8	6-10	7-9	5-11	5-11	7-9	7-9	3-13	0-16	3-13			51-109	0		0
Cardinals	2-14	7-9	7-9	4-12	11-5	9-7	8-8	9-7	7-9	12-4			76-84	3	3-3	2		0-1
Bears	1-15	3-13	2-14	7-9	8-8	3-13	7-9	10-6	2-14	5-11			48-112	1	0-1	0
Packers	4-12	9-6-1	7-9	8-8	3-13	7-9	6-10	6-10	9-7	11-5			70-89-1	5	1-5	3
Lions	7-9	5-10-1	5-11	6-10	8-8	9-7	7-9	7-8-1	8-8	11-5			73-85-2	1	0-1	0
Vikings	12-4	10-6	6-10	7-9	10-6	12-4	11-5	10-6	12-4	6-10			96-64	7	2-7	7
Buccaneers	15-1	15-1	13-3	15-1	12-4	12-4	12-4	11-5	8-8	6-10			119-41	8	11-6	7	2-2	4-1
Saints	10-6	6-10	7-9	7-9	7-9	12-4	11-5	10-6	10-6	10-6			90-70	5	3-5	3		0-1
Falcons	5-11	4-12	1-15	5-11	1-15	6-10	7-9	3-13	5-11	5-11			42-118	0		0
Panthers	5-11	5-11	4-12	2-14	3-13	1-15	5-11	1-15	8-8	3-13			37-123	0		0
Eagles	13-3	13-3	10-6	10-6	10-6	12-4	5-11	7-9	6-10	5-11			91-69	6	7-6	4	0-1	1-2
Cowboys	10-6	7-9	12-4	6-10	9-7	9-7	8-8	7-9	12-4	8-8			88-72	2	2-2	2		0-1
Giants	11-5	8-8	11-5	10-6	12-4	9-7	12-4	10-6	10-6	11-5			104-56	9	13-9	4	0-2	2-3
Redskins	3-13	4-12	5-11	9-7	5-11	6-10	2-14	8-8	3-13	9-7			54-106	1	0-1	0
Steelers	8-8	9-7	6-10	6-10	6-10	3-13	10-6	5-11	5-11	5-11			63-97	2	1-2	2
Ravens	3-13	6-10	5-11	5-11	10-6	7-9	3-13	11-5	11-5	11-5			72-88	3	2-3	3
Bengals	9-7	7-9	13-3	8-8	12-4	10-6	9-7	4-12	3-13	6-10			81-79	4	1-4	4
Browns	4-12	8-8	9-7	9-7	2-14	4-12	8-8	5-11	7-9	8-8			64-96	1	0-1	1
Colts	12-4	12-4	8-8	11-4-1	11-5	13-3	10-6	12-4	13-3	15-1			117-42-1	9	13-8	6	1-2	3-3
Titans	11-5	9-7	13-3	8-7-1	12-4	7-9	11-5	8-8	9-6-1	7-9			95-63-2	4	3-4	3	0-1	1-1
Jaguars	11-5	9-7	12-4	8-8	8-8	9-7	7-9	14-2	8-8	6-10			92-68	4	5-4	1	0-1	1-1
Texans	9-7	8-8	6-10	8-8	9-7	6-10	6-10	3-13	4-12	4-12			63-97	0		0
Patriots	14-2	13-3	13-3	13-3	12-4	12-4	11-5	6-10	10-6	9-7			113-47	8	4-8	5	0-1	1-0
Bills	8-8	11-5	12-4	5-11	6-10	8-8	11-5	8-8	10-6	11-5			90-70	5	5-5	1		0-2
Jets	6-10	2-14	5-11	7-9	7-9	4-12	2-14	5-11	4-12	5-11			47-113	0		0
Dolphins	2-14	6-10	6-10	5-11	1-15	15-1	9-7	14-2	15-1	16-0			89-71	4	10-1	4	3-0	3-1
Chargers	9-7	9-7	3-13	5-11	10-6	3-13	6-10	9-7	9-7	8-8			71-89	3	1-3	1
Broncos	10-6	11-5	13-3	11-5	9-7	8-8	12-4	10-6	8-7-1	9-7			101-58-1	7	7-7	4	1-0	1-2
Chiefs	8-8	6-10	8-8	9-7	10-6	6-10	7-9	8-8	9-7	4-12			75-85	2	0-2	1
Raiders	5-11	7-9	4-12	13-3	7-9	11-5	6-10	13-3	8-8	12-4			86-74	4	3-4	4

	Super Bowls
	Winner	Loser	Score
XLIII	49ers	Patriots	23-21
XLIV	Broncos	Buccaneers	24-14
XLV	49ers	Jaguars	27-3
XLVI	Buccaneers	Colts	30-27 (OT)
XLVII	49ers	Colts	22-3
XLVIII	Colts	Eagles	28-17
XLIX	Buccaneers	Titans	24-17
L	Dolphins	Buccaneers	20-17 (OT)
LI	Dolphins	Giants	24-14
LII	Dolphins	Giants	20-7
	NFC Championship
	Winner	Loser	Score
2008	49ers	Eagles	31-14
2009	Buccaneers	49ers	38-17
2010	49ers	Buccaneers	17-13
2011	Buccaneers	Eagles	31-14
2012	49ers	Giants	35-10
2013	Eagles	Cardinals	23-20
2014	Buccaneers	Giants	14-13
2015	Buccaneers	Giants	28-7
2016	Giants	Cowboys	30-7
2017	Giants	Saints	38-19
	AFC Championship
	Winner	Loser	Score
2008	Patriots	Colts	19-16 (OT)
2009	Broncos	Bills	34-14
2010	Jaguars	Bills	20-17
2011	Colts	Broncos	28-14
2012	Colts	Titans	23-17
2013	Colts	Dolphins	20-17
2014	Titans	Broncos	26-7
2015	Dolphins	Jaguars	17-13
2016	Dolphins	Colts	31-17
2017	Dolphins	Colts	38-14

Head coaches going into 2018:

49ers	Mike Singletary
Seahawks	Mike Holmgren
Rams	Norv Turner
Cardinals	Jerry Gray
Bears	Eric Mangini
Packers	Mike McCarthy
Lions	John Mitchell
Vikings	Brad Childress
Buccaneers	Bill Muir
Saints	Sean Payton
Falcons	Tony Sparano
Panthers	Danny Crossman
Eagles	Rex Ryan
Cowboys	Wade Phillips
Giants	Tom Coughlin
Redskins	Ron Rivera
Steelers	Mike Tomlin
Ravens	Andy Reid
Bengals	Marvin Lewis
Browns	Al Saunders
Colts	Tony Dungy
Titans	Jeff Fisher
Jaguars	Gary Kubiak
Texans	Jordan Slocum
Patriots	Bill Belichick
Bills	Dick Jauron
Jets	Jack Del Rio
Dolphins	Jon Gruden
Chargers	Mike Martz
Broncos	Mike Shanahan
Chiefs	Jim Caldwell
Raiders	Gary Hammermill

[Mike3207]

NFL Fan, what's Jordan Slocum overall as HC? Do you put more points into special skills or regular skills?

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrs844224

NFL Fan, what's Jordan Slocum overall as HC? Do you put more points into special skills or regular skills?

99 overall, a lot of both actually. Performance is a 5, All physical development at 4 minus TE/K/P, All intangibles at 4 minus P, all learning at 3 minus K/P. I also have basically all of the level 1 special skills plus a few others that are position specific.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

A lot of work is to be done with this team. Many bad contracts, just about everyone has a much larger bonus than deserved. First, here's the staff.

OC: Jerry Sullivan: Ironically, my old SF OC, he's above average, 68 OVR
DC: Wayne Nunnely 67 OVR, only level one performance (can go to 2) but good development
ST: Ivan Fears: 4 OVR, the guy really sucks
QB: Tony Dyal: 39 OVR...not great but could be worse
RB: Jon Runyan: 31 OVR...Why in the world is he a RB coach? A shame, he'd probably actually make sense as a OL coach, no RB development skills
WR: Todd Mauck: 11 OVR...not much positive here.
OL: Bobby McLee: 8 OVR, no development skills
LB: Matt Boelter: 30 OVR, good development, terrible performance but can be raised. He's usable.
DL: Frank Durwood: 23 OVR, max performance 1. Boo.
DB: Mike Mustard: 9 OVR, Bad at everything.
GM: Jim Andrews: 66 OVR...Above Avg defensive scout, meh offensive.
Trainer...who cares? They're all the same.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Roster and thoughts..

POS	Name	OVR	Salary	Yrs left	Age	Season	Penalty
QB	Justin Bericap	81	1.1 M	3	25	1	1.1 M
QB	John Kramer	74	1.1 M	2	26	2	1.0 M
QB
HB	Tanard Mathis	89	8.8 M	1	28	7	1.3 M
HB	Zach Bailey	77	3.0 M	2	27	7	1.4 M
HB	Wayne Snider	74	1.1 M	1	29	5	750 K
HB
FB
WR	Marco Chambers	77	4.1 M	1	29	8	1.3 M
WR	Brent Smiley	74	630 K	1	24	2	180 K
WR	Jordan Miles	68	410 K	1	29	6	250 K
WR
TE	Torrin Warrick	77	1.9 M	5	24	2	4.2 M
TE	Brock Whitmore	70	720 K	1	26	2	None
TE	Bo Scaife	65	640 K	1	36	14	250 K
TE
T	Jeromey Clary	85	2.2 M	1	33	12	1.3 M
T	Tony Pape	88	3.7 M	2	35	11	2.7 M
T	Kedrick Shaw	81	1.6 M	3	32	9	600 K
T	Rick Coles	76	690 K	2	24	1	340 K
G	Ben Noll	88	3.3 M	2	33	11	3.3 M
G	Emmanuel Gibson	81	1.6 M	5	24	1	4.2 M
G	Ray Abrams	69	250 K	1	25	1	None
G
C
DE	Bennie Quinn	84	3.6 M	3	25	2	4.5 M
DE	Mario Williams	91	7.2 M	4	32	12	14.7 M
DE	Jay Jay Easley	71	250 K	1	25	2	180 K
DE
DE
DT	Vontae Hall	87	6.8 M	4	23	1	14.4 M
DT	Donald Worthy	82	1.3 M	2	25	2	500 K
DT	Orien Williams	79	1.6 M	2	30	7	1.7 M
OLB	Chase Beck	89	6.5 M	1	33	9	2.3 M
OLB	Nate Branch	87	4.1 M	2	26	3	3.0 M
OLB	Jarius Curtis	80	1.9 M	4	28	5	3.3 M
OLB	Pat Kingston	72	280 K	1	25	2	180 K
OLB	Johnnie Plue	65	460 K	2	24	1	170 K
MLB
MLB	Eric Buckley	78	510 K	3	25	3	520 K
OLB
OLB
CB	Brandon Biggs	87	6.2 M	4	30	8	11.2 M
CB	Dunta Robinson	84	5,4 M	1	35	14	1.8 M
CB	Zack Bowman	79	2.9 M	4	32	10	3.7 M
CB	Jeremiah Cox	78	1.8 M	4	25	2	1.7 M
CB
FS	Sanrick Raines	86	4.6 M	3	32	9	6.5 M
FS
SS	Dawan Landry	85	3.9 M	2	33	12	2.2 M
SS
K	Alexis Serna	88	1.4 M	1	32	10	750 K
P	DeAngelo McFarland	75	520 K	1	28	4	130 K

QB: Neither guy is overly impressive. Bericap has capped out his arm basically, 95 THP, but a crappy 86 THA. Awareness can improve, but he'll never be more than "meh." Kramer has a weaker arm (92), slightly better accuracy (87, top at 89) and can get to decent awareness. But still, "meh" at best.

HB: Mathis is a speedster in the last year of his deal. I'd imagine he'd be good, but he has a very tradeable deal and I might be able to sell high on him. Other backs are suck.

WR: All awful. Chambers will be cut for sure, Smiley will never have much for hands. Miles is suck. Definite need of an overhaul here.

TE: Warrick was a guy I signed UDFA a while back. Decent hands, but slow. Unfortunately, he has an albatross new deal so he'll stay. Scaife is retiring, Whitmore is meh.

T: Pape is much worse than his OVR. Great learning and durability but mediocre OL skills. Shaw isn't much either, both have bad contracts. Clary has decent skills and could stick. Coles is meh.

G: Noll fits the same mold as Pape, but does actually have decent blocking skills. It costs the same to cut and keep, so he's hard to move. Gibson has decent potential to stay for a bit.

DE: One of the solid positions. Quinn is fairly good all around and has upside, and Mario Williams still is very good. Neither will be moved just based on contract.

DT: Vontae Hall was their last 1st rounder, he's very good, he'll be a great rock. Worthy will probably stick as his backup. Williams unfortunately has a crap contract and is injury prone. Sad face.

LB: Beck lacks speed, so he'd fit better inside. I could sell high on him though, so he's a trade option. Buckley is meh. Branch is fairly solid...not flashy but pretty good overall. The other 3 are meh.

CB: Biggs is pretty solid. Robinson may be a sell guy, movable contract plus his speed has dropped. I don't think he's strong enough to switch to safety like I did Samuel before. Bowman and Cox are both grossly overpaid and hard to move.

S: Raines has a good skill set and is probably a keeper. Landry's speed is significantly down (67) so he'll need to be moved.

K/P: Oh Serna, we meet again. Great leg, no accuracy. I like leg though, and no replacements are around. McFarland may stay just because punter is fairly unimportant.

Overall, the offense is a much bigger concern. Question at QB, terrible WRs, mediocre OL. Defensively, the line is very strong, with some decent playmakers in the back 7. Still, changes need to be made.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

I have about $31 million in cap, not counting any potential moves. Not a huge amount of money, but enough to make a big move if desired.

Draft Options:

QB: Pretty good looking QB Draft, the stud is Trent Rakestraw (Palmer), with Whithers (Bulger), Suvak (Dilfer, noodle arm but decent otherwise, may have low potential) and Antrelle Lynch (McNair, great arm and speed, bad accuracy and a dunce)

HB: Darius Stallworth (Alexander) is the stud, power back. Rest of the RB class looks pretty useless.

WR: Dominc Jordan (Calvin Johnson) is the stud WR. Tammrick Ford (Horn, solid possession guy) and Anthony Revis (Housh) are the two possession guys looking good. But there is an unknown in Dargan (Chad 85), Haddix (Ginn...maybe this is an allusion to Wayne Haddix a la Tecmo Super Bowl?) Either way, strong WR class.

TE: Markeith Jacobs (Vernon Davis) gets my attention with blazing speed, if only I didn't have Warrick to that big deal. Also McCooley (Shockey) is a good option.

T: Carpenter (Staley) is unknown, while McMichael (Clifton) is a good run blocker, bad pass blocker. Kent (Joe Thomas) is good all around, Ray Martin (Walter Jones) looks decent for a later pick. None of the right tackles get my attention.

G: Rob Freeland (Steinbach) is very good and balanced. Other than Freeland, the guards all suck.

C: Feely (O'Hara) might be alright, but an unimpressive group of centers.

DE and DT: Good thing I'm set at these spots, TERRIBLE Draft for defensive line.

LB: Also very unimpressive, Haley (Sims) and Ramsey (T. Davis) might be worth a look, but that's it.

CB: Some decent prospects, Jefferson (D. Hall) and some unknowns at the top. Not bad at the top but not special either.

S: Jones (Hamlin) is the best, Gamble (M. Griffin) is a solid coverage option as well. Ward (Huff) could be something.

K: I like Jason Duncan (Elam, 97 KPW) but he's not likely needed.

Overall looking at the Draft, it is very weak overall. WR and QB are only strengths, along with maybe LT. Luckily the defense is already decent. Free agency may be the way to go. That and a LOT of trading.

Picks:
1st (4)
2nd (36)
3rd (68)
4th (100)
5th (132)
6th (164)
7th (196)

Next season
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th.